Syria: Al-Nusra Front Imminent Attack Thwarted Near Aleppo

Russian combat jets deployed in Syria carried out targeted airstrikes on al-Nusra Front terrorists to thwart their imminent offensive against pro-government forces on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

“In light of the escalation of the situation, after an aerial reconnaissance and thorough target-designation, the Russian aircraft have carried out airstrikes against Nusra Front positions on the outskirts of Aleppo, thwarting terrorists’ attempt to launch an offensive,” the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.

The development comes as reports show the terrorists have been violating the ceasefire in Syria on several occasions by firing at residential areas in the Southern parts of Aleppo province.

“The Syrian Army has renewed military activity against armed groups that are regularly violating the internationally-brokered ceasefire agreement in Southern Aleppo,” the Joint Operations Command Headquarters of the Syrian Army in Aleppo said in a statement on Wednesday.

This is not the first time that the terrorist groups are violating the ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia came into effect on February 27.

Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on February 27, Damascus time (22:00 GMT on February 26). The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on February 26, shortly before the ceasefire came into force.

The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist groups operating in Syria, including ISIL and al-Nusra Front a group affiliated with al-Qaeda.